Culture
Summit

Joining virtually, Malcolm Gladwell is president and co-founder of Pushkin Industries. He is a journalist, a speaker, and the author of six New York Times bestsellers including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, David and Goliath, and Talking to Strangers. He has been a staff writer for the New Yorker since 1996. He is a trustee of the Surgo Foundation and currently serves on the board of the RAND Corporation.

Os Guinness is an author and social critic. Great-great-great grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer, he was born in China in World War Two where his parents were medical missionaries. A witness to the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, he was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to Europe where he was educated in England. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of London and his D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College, Oxford. Os has written or edited more than thirty books, including The Call, Time for Truth, Unspeakable, A Free People’s Suicide, The Global Public Square, Last Call for Liberty, Carpe Diem Redeemed, and The Magna Carta of Humanity. His latest book is The Great Quest: Invitation to the Examined Life and a Sure Path to Meaning, published in 2022.

Since moving to the United States in 1984, Os has been a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies, a Guest Scholar and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum and the EastWest Institute in New York. He was the lead drafter of the Williamsburg Charter in 1988, a celebration of the bicentennial of the US Constitution, and later of “The Global Charter of Conscience,” which was published at the European Union Parliament in 2012. Os has spoken at many of the world’s major universities, and spoken widely to political and business conferences across the world. He lives with his wife Jenny in the Washington DC area.

Felicia Song is a cultural sociologist who studies the place of digital technologies in contemporary life. Having trained in History, Communication Studies and Sociology from Yale, Northwestern, and University of Virginia, her research is oriented around the rapidly evolving digital technology industry and how the adoption of social media and digital devices fundamentally alters the landscapes of family, community, and organizational life.

She is author of Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence and Place in the Digital Age and Virtual Communities: Bowling Alone, Online Together. She regularly speaks on digital practices, social media, the digital media industry, parenting in the digital age, and spiritual formation at universities and colleges, churches, schools, parent groups, and conferences.

Dr. Song lives in Santa Barbara CA with her husband and two children. When she is not working, she enjoys reading children’s chapter books, gardening, doing the NYTimes crossword puzzle, and daydreams about becoming a bass player.

Ruth Chou Simons is a Wall Street Journal bestselling and award-winning author of several books and Bible studies, including GraceLaced, Beholding and Becoming, and When Strivings Cease. She is an artist, entrepreneur, podcaster, and speaker, using each of these platforms to spiritually sow the Word of God into people’s hearts. Through her online shoppe at GraceLaced.com and her social media community, Simons shares her journey of God’s grace intersecting daily life with word and art. Ruth and her husband, Troy, are grateful parents to six boys—their greatest adventure.

Father Carlos Martins is a leading exorcist of the Catholic Church. Throughout his two decades of ministry and service, he has helped set people free all over the world. Father Martins also leads Treasures of the Church, a ministry of evangelization of the Catholic Church helping people experience God through encounters with Relics.

Chris is a founding member of Avail. Before joining Avail as CEO, Chris served at Columbia University as Campus Ministry Director for Cru and as a Campus Fellow with Christian Union. Chris was a 2021 Praxis Fellow, and a panelist at the 2022 Praxis Summit in Napa, CA. She’s been featured on several podcasts, and speaks frequently at events geared towards nonprofit and ministry leaders, including Lead.NYC’s Movement Day initiative. Chris recently contributed an essay in The City for God, a collection honoring Tim Keller’s work. A graduate of Brown University, Chris currently serves on the President’s Council for the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Chris and her husband are residents of the Upper West Side and members of Redeemer Lincoln Square.

Ryan “OPM” Green is the creator and founder of “Visual Intoxicants” (a photography, film and graphic design company) and “Anointed MVMNT” A Dance Ministry. OPM discovered his talent for dance at the age of three and began his formal training at City Dance at Strathmore in Rockville, MD. In high school, OPM created a dance crew by the name “Team SAVAGE” which won national recognition with Vlado Sneaker Company, Los Angeles, CA. Experts have commented that his style of expression and movement defies physics and his artistic interpretations are always a pleasure to watch.

Ryan was featured on Fox’s most viewed entertainment show, “So You Think You Can Dance”, in 2018. He was the first place winner at The Apollo Theater on Amateur Night and currently holds the title of DC King of the Streets Battle Fest champion. He is a 2x World of Dance All Styles Head Bangers Brawl finalist and most recently became a finalist at Red Bull’s Dance Your Style Event. Ryan currently serves as the dance ministry leader at RAIN church.

Ryan continues to advance the boundaries of dance with his creative approach to Freestyle and produces captivating visual content via the platform of his unique brands @AnointedMVMNT & @visualintoxicants. His mission is to help dancers realize that it is okay to be different and to never let anyone tell you that you CAN’T do anything because you CAN!

Will is married to his wife Andrea and has two beautiful children; Karis and Kairos. He and his wife are new church planters of Beloved Church and founders of The Meeting Place.

Will was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea until he was 15 years old. He grew up on a U.S. Army Base in Seoul and got into a lot of trouble as a youth. Eventually, he had to leave the country as a result of some bad choices he made in life. On February 18, 2006, Will had a personal encounter with the love of Jesus for the first time at a Saturday night service held at a small local church in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. A couple years later, he found himself as a youth pastor at the age of 18. He served as a youth and college pastor for 8 years in Los Angeles and Orange County, California and as a volunteer staff for 10 years with 4 Christ Mission.

Will’s aim in life is to be in communion with God.

He graduated from Talbot School of Theology with a M. Div in Evangelism and Discipleship. He’s also an associate of Leadership Network and Exponential, on the core team of Initiative Network and an Advisory Board Member for The Arrow Movement and the United States National Prayer Council.

DeLisa Guerrier is an accomplished real estate executive and entrepreneur with expertise in community building and provides much of the vision for Guerrier Development’s direction and choice of projects.

A graduate of historic Tennessee State University and a native of Northern California, she entered the real estate market in Nashville shortly after the crash and immediately turned her attention to the entrepreneurial side of the field.

DeLisa guides Guerrier Development’s vision for communities as well as driving its social mission to invest in emerging neighborhoods while keeping housing prices for the firm’s work affordable. She is also the driving force behind the company’s entry into the hospitality vertical.

Jon is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 21 years of experience in web and mobile app product, design and development. He has built two successful web and mobile app companies which combined under his leadership have developed more than 220 different solutions over 21 years. Cappital, founded in 2014, has served clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies including recognizable brands like: Associated Press, Unilever, Warner Brothers,  Prager University, and Joyce Meyer Ministries. Jon has also played an integral, founding role in over a dozen startups, like PayYourRent.com, the second largest rent platform in the United States. Jon has brought niche startups to market across a wide range of industries. One large media company Cappital built and managed directly averaged 30 million monthly visits. Jon actively supports 12+ nonprofits. Jon highly values the quantity and quality of time with his family, starting with his wife of 15 years.

Dr. William R. Forstchen has a Ph.D. in Military History and Technology from Purdue University. He specializes now on the issues of Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) weapons and cyber attacks on our electrical grid. He is a professor and faculty fellow of History and Creative Writing at Montreat College, located near Asheville NC. He has published over 50 books amongst which are his NYT best selling series “One Second After,” he has also worked with former Speaker Newt Gingrich for half a dozen best sellers about the American Revolution and Civil War. His other interests include doing archaeological work in Mongolia and flying an original WWII recon “warbird”. He resides near Asheville with his twin golden-doodles Abby and Chloe. And yes, he drives a Tesla in spite of concerns about the power grid.

Addison D. Bevere loves disassembling the boxes that fragment and frustrate our lives—a process he calls integrative faith. He is the author of Saints, coauthor of The Holy Spirit: An Introduction, and cofounder of Sons and Daughters. Addison serves as the COO of Messenger International, a discipleship organization that impacts millions of people in nearly every country. He and his wife Juli have four children and live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Joey Odom is the co-founder of Aro, a disruptive technology company that uses technology to help us put down our phones and be fully present in the moment with the people who matter most. Aro’s patented technology leverages the science of habit formation to create patterns and rhythms of presence for families. Aro is the only platform that quantifies time physically distant from phones, which studies show is the most effective way to limit personal device screen time. Joey is a natural storyteller and a dynamic leader known for his ability to inspire and foster deep connections with others. His own experience with technology as a husband and dad led Joey to help create Aro alongside co-founder Heath Wilson, former co-founder of eVestment (now a NASDAQ company). Joey also hosts The Aro Podcast, which is a weekly conversation with leaders and influencers who strive to live intentionally.

Tori Hope Petersen is the bestselling author of Fostered and sought out national speaker, inspiring audiences to change the world with what they have, right where they are, by loving the people in front of them. Tori is a leading advocate in child welfare, and has been featured on Good Morning America, and many other publications sharing her story about being a former foster youth and overcoming to serve others. She founded the Beloved Initiative, a nonprofit where in community people learn how to become professional lovers of people.

Chief (Ret.) Nicholas Sensley is the Founder & CEO of the Institute for American Policing Reform. Nicholas is a former California Police Chief with 25 years of diverse policing services among three California municipalities. He has served as a consultant and developer in the United States, Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and the South Caribbean. Nicholas’ expertise in developing strategic responses to humanitarian crises has been recognized by the US Department of Justice, the US Department of State, the US Department of Homeland Security, the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in, Europe, and other governmental, bilateral, and nongovernmental entities. He has served as an instructor of leadership for the US Department of Justice, and the Pointman Leadership Institute, and has lectured at universities globally.  Nicholas has served as an appointed Human Rights Commissioner and has served on the boards of several humanitarian organizations. Learn more about Nicholas at www.NicholasSensley.com.

Teó is the founder of Dunamis Movement, a ministry focused on revival inside of universities. Today, Dunamis reaches over 400 university campuses worldwide. Teo has already traveled to more than 40 nations preaching the gospel and seeing the miraculous power of God reaching people from different walks of life. Teo and Junia have three kids, and are also senior pastors of Zion Church, a multi-campus church, full of the Holy Spirit, that has not only impacted Brasil, but the whole world. Teo is the author of various books and is a part of The Send’s core leadership.

Joining virtually, Jean M. Twenge, Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University, is the author of more than 180 scientific publications and seven books, including iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood and Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future (published April 25, 2023). Dr. Twenge frequently gives talks and seminars on teaching and working with today’s young generation based on a dataset of 11 million young people. Her audiences have included college faculty and staff, high school teachers, parents, military personnel, camp directors, and corporate executives. Her research has been covered in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, and The Washington Post, and she has been featured on Today, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Fox and Friends, NBC Nightly News, and National Public Radio. She holds a BA and MA from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Matt Whitlock is the Lead Teaching Pastor of Capo Beach Church located in Southern California. He is the author of “Frequently Avoided Questions – An Uncensored Dialogue on Faith” and most recently “Change Together – 7 Practices of a Lifestyle Missionary”. Matt has ministered in more than 60 countries and coaches leaders in ideation, strategy and cultural discernment for gospel centered initiatives. Matt resides with his wife Mina and their children in San Juan Capistrano, California. 

 

Rory Groves moved his family from the city to the country several years ago to begin the journey towards a more durable way of life. Rory and his wife Becca now reside in southern Minnesota where they farm, raise livestock, host workshops, and homeschool their six children. He is the author of Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time.

Jake Weidmann is a professional artist and certified as one of nine Master Penman in the world. Certified through IAMPETH (International Association of Master Penman, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting) in July 2011, Weidmann holds the title as the youngest Master Penman by three decades and the youngest to ever attain the title. Weidmann’s peers (other Masters) are noted for working with the White House, Queen Elizabeth and the Pope. His journey into calligraphy has been the “special sauce” for everything he now creates, incorporating the traditional calligraphic flourishing into his fine art. Weidmann is self-taught in each of his disciplines (calligraphy, painting, drawing, woodworking, and engraving). Coined by 5280 Magazine as today’s Renaissance Man, Weidmann’s analog mediums defy the digital-centric age we live in as he employs old world tools and techniques to achieve his finished works. While he typically works with private clients, Weidmann has worked with Apple, Inc., Crossway Books, and Biola University and has spoken from countless stages including Tedx and Q and was featured on PBS Television.

Joey Lankford had what a lot of people want in life: the nice house, the nice family, and the nice salary — not to mention the nice stuff that goes along with it — but a nice life also comes with a big hunger for more. About the time he realized it, he discovered how drained, empty, and frustrated he felt from trying to keep up.

Who knew the American dream could cost so much? Joey exchanged a comfortable life, running the family business in the Nashville suburbs, to engage in missions halfway around the world. The Lankfords left behind family, friends, and the familiar in search of a unique calling–economic development within South Africa’s poorest communities.

Upon arrival to South Africa in October 2010, Joey worked in the job-creation and development arm of a ministry called Living Hope. In partnership with a stateside church, Joey organized the funds needed to purchase two 100’ x 25’ greenhouses to use in the training and development of the local poor in and around Cape Town. He worked relationally with those God brought (3 students) from the nearby townships, and together they planted 1,500 tomato plants and used a hydroponic irrigation process to grow superior quality vegetables to sell to local market access partners.

God tremendously blessed the work of the ministry over the next 4 ½ years, and currently, the Cape Town platform uses 13 greenhouses and a crop rotation of 7,000 plants to train, disciple, and equip up to 14 people annually. Joey was privileged to serve with Living Hope and a wonderful team of international volunteers, local staff, and students who are still there praying, collaborating, and working to make that platform all that God wants it to be.

In early 2015, God called Joey, Courtney, and their 5 children back to Tennessee with a passion to engage poverty and hunger using what they had learned in Africa. In May, Joey joined Cul2vate as Executive Director and looks forward to working hard, collaborating with others, and watching as God again answers the Ephesians 3:20 prayers of His people to do more than we could ask or imagine!

Grant has a deep passion for finding, uniting and accelerating diverse and dynamic young leaders to reach the most lost generation our nation has ever seen. In 2020 Grant married Cheyanne and moved to Nashville to become the Next Gen Director for Q Ideas. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, Relevant, The Gospel Coalition and was recently featured on the cover of Outreach Magazine. His book on the next generation, The Passion Generation, has helped thousands of pastors and parents trying to reach and raise the next generation.

Darren Whitehead is the lead and founding pastor of Church of the City. In 2013, he and a small team had a vision to plant a family of churches that live in the way of Jesus for the renewal of global cities. Every weekend thousands of people join in person and online at one of 3 regional church congregations across the Nashville area. Originally from Australia, Darren has lived in the United States for over 20 years. He holds both Masters and Doctorate degrees in Ministry, with his dissertation focus on millennials and the future of the Western church. He’s written two books including, Holy Roar: 7 Words That Will Change The Way You Worship, co-authored with worship leader Chris Tomlin. Darren and Brandy have three daughters and live in Nashville.

Rebekah Lyons is a national speaker, host of the Rhythms for Life podcast, and bestselling author of Rhythms of Renewal, You Are Free, and Freefall to Fly. An old soul with a contemporary, honest voice, Rebekah reveals her own battles to overcome anxiety and depression—and invites others to discover and boldly pursue their God-given purpose. Alongside her husband, Gabe, Rebekah finds joy in raising four children, two of whom have Down syndrome. She wears her heart on her sleeve, a benefit to friends and readers alike. Her work has been featured on The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, CNN, FOX News, Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review, and more.

In 2007, Gabe founded Q Ideas, a media and events platform that educates and mobilizes Christians to advance the common good in society. He is the co-author of Good Faith: Being a Christian When Society Thinks You’re Irrelevant and Extreme and unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity… And Why It Matters. Gabe’s work represents the perspectives of a new generation of Christians and has been featured by CNN, The New York Times, Fox News and USA Today.